Following the meeting, however, a source in Arafat's office said that Palestinians believed the discussions explored the possibility of reopening the casino.

In addition, Austrian sources quoted in Ma'ariv said the meeting was convened at the initiative of the Casinos Austria's chairman, Leo Wallner.

Last week, police investigators charged that Schlaff was closely connected to straw companies established by Gilad Sharon and that there are serious suspicions the Sharon family received perks from the Austrian businessman.

Police asked the court for permission to read documents seized during a raid on the offices of attorney Avi Alter, who served as a tax consultant for Gilad Sharon when setting up straw companies in the Caribbean.

Police believe that these documents may link Schlaff to Gilad Sharon, after a search of Alter's files revealed that he also performed tax services for Schlaff.

Labor Party officials denied any knowledge of a meeting between Barak and Sharon during which the Jericho casino was discussed, but did say there were many secret channels of communication established between the two and that the topic could have been brought up there.

Other people involved in the establishment of the casino included Shimon Sheves, a former director-general of the Prime Minister's Office under Yitzhak Rabin and who was recently acquitted of bribery and fraud charges.

Sheves, who is a good friend of Weisglass's and was represented by the attorney during his criminal trial, served as a consultant for BAWAG in the casino project.

Sources close to Sheves said that Schlaff joined the casino project in order to promote peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

Sheves is also a close friend of Schlaff's. Weisglass declined to comment for this article. IMRA is now also on Twitter http: The fact that such a project is opening in Palestinian-controlled territory is significant.

Efforts to bring casino gambling to Israel's seaside resorts have been defeated because of the political influence of the country's Orthodox religious establishment.

The opposition from Jericho's majority Muslim community is no less vocal -- gambling violates the tenets of Islam.

But Arafat's self-rule authority has simply decided to bar its people from the casino, according to a spokesman for the resort project.

So this is something that most of the local residents will never come to," said Ilan Pilo, a spokesman for the Tel Aviv-based Gitam Porter Novelli advertising agency.

The Israeli agency is the publicist for the developer, Casinos Austria. The Oasis Tourist Resort, named for Jericho's historic place as a fertile area in the desert, will house slot machines, 35 gaming tables, a restaurant-bar and entertainment lounge.

The hotel complex will offer rooms, conference facilities, a pool, golf course and tennis courts. The full resort is scheduled to open next summer, in time for the millions of tourists expected to travel here to celebrate the new millennium.

The land for the complex was donated by the Palestinian Authority. An entity associated with the government, the Palestinian Commercial Services Co.

But Pilo, the spokesman for Casinos Austria, would not discuss the venture's Palestinian partners. Casinos Austria operates more than gaming houses throughout the world, including ones in Denmark, Argentina, Egypt and Australia.

The company contends the resort project will provide jobs for 1, Palestinians. But many of the casino employees are.

Munther Nimer, a tile worker from Jericho, said gambling conflicts with the culture and traditions of the mostly Muslim population.

But there are no jobs," he added. Mohammed Abdullah, who works at a medical clinic run by the Islamic Al Islah Society, said a majority of Jericho residents oppose the casino for religious reasons.

The project's developers are hoping to draw tourists, Israelis and well-to-do Arabs with foreign passports.

They describe the casino as a gaming house designed "in a European style with elements of the Orient.

The Mount of Temptation, where Jesus faced down Satan, and Herod's magnificent winter palace are within a short drive of the casino site.

Also nearby are the spas nestled along the salty Dead Sea. The Oasis resort is an hour's ride from Jerusalem, through spectacular desert scenery.

During negotiations with the Labor Party in October over the possibility of the Likud joining a national unity government, Ariel Sharon was asked by attorney Dov Weisglass, today his bureau chief, to speak with then premier Ehud Barak over the possibility of reopening the casino in Palestinian-controlled Jericho, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

The owners were reportedly given a franchise to operate the Jericho casino until , with a year tax exemption from the day it opened.

BAWAG, like Schlaff, is also eagerly waiting for the government to allow for Israelis to resume gambling at the casino. The police are investigating the possibility that Kern served as a front man for Schlaff, another friend of Sharon's, and a businessman heavily invested in Israel, who could have made the loan in the hope that Sharon would make decisions favorable to his business interests, including the reopening of the Jericho casino.

Shortly after the meeting at the ranch in order to discuss Weisglass's proposal, the national unity talks fell through. After Barak called for elections in December , Sharon, in a landslide victory, was elected prime minister in February and appointed Weisglass as his bureau chief.

The BAWAG bank owns 13 percent, an organization called the Palestinian National Fund owns 25 percent, his company owns 18 percent, and Schlaff is the largest shareholder with 44 percent.

The Cancun casino boat currently floating off the Eilat coast in international waters is controlled by Schlaff, who holds 64 percent; BAWAG owns 16 percent and Casinos Austria owns 20 percent.

Herzfeld confirmed that Weisglass served as Casinos Austria's lawyer in Israel and that his firm continues to handle their affairs. He denied however, that his company is involved in any form of political lobbying in order to reopen the casino, but said that "there were periods that things went in a way that there was a feeling that it might be reopened.

Three weeks before the prime ministerial elections and a mere two months after the meeting at Sharon's ranch, Schlaff and Muhammad Rashid, Yasser Arafat's personal economic adviser and a founder of the Jericho casino, secretly met with Omri Sharon, the prime minister's other son, Weisglass, and former Foreign Ministry director-general Eitan Bentsur in Austria.

Bentsur denies that the casino was mentioned at the meeting and that the sides strictly discussed diplomatic matters, despite media reports suggesting otherwise.

Some people, including Palestinian guests from Jerusalem,. Jericho and other parts of the West Bank attended the gala. However, the laws of Islam forbid gambling, making the casino.

The Oasis is being managed by Casinos Austria, which plans to. Security personnel searching cars and belongings outside the casino;. Convoy of Palestinian police vehicles in the casino compound;.

So, it is a good thing because maybe people know that if we do things to enjoy the time and not to fight it will be much better. Sign in or Register.

AP Annual Entertainment Reviews. US Presidential Elections Project Go to top. Details Go to top. Shotlist Go to top. The Austrian management of the gambling haven, who set it up with the patronage of the Palestinian Authority, is expecting the casino to be used first and foremost by Israeli gamblers.

Hundreds of Israelis flooded into the establishment for opening night.

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